Tailoring Alginate/Chitosan Microparticles Loaded with Chemical and Biological Agents for Agricultural Application and Production of Value-Added Foods

Abstract

This work reviews the recent development of biopolymer-based delivery systems for agricultural application. Encapsulation into biopolymer microparticles ensures the protection and targeted delivery of active agents while offering controlled release with higher efficiency and environmental safety for ecological and sustainable plant production. Encapsulation of biological agents provides protection and increases its survivability while providing an environment safe for growth. The application of microparticles loaded with chemical and biological agents presents an innovative way to stimulate plant metabolites synthesis. This enhances plants’ defense against pests and pathogens and results in the production of higher quality food (i.e., higher plant metabolites share). Ionic gelation was presented as a sustainable method in developing biopolymeric microparticles based on the next-generation biopolymers alginate and chitosan. Furthermore, this review highlights the advantages and disadvantages of advanced formulations against conventional ones. The significance of plant metabolites stimulation and their importance in functional food production is also pointed out. This review offers guidelines in developing biopolymeric microparticles loaded with chemical and biological agents and guidelines for the application in plant production, underlining its effect on the plant metabolites synthesis.

Soil and Foliar Applications of Wood Distillate Differently Affect Soil Properties and Field Bean Traits in Preliminary Field Tests

“…The easily available carbon forms present in WD, associated with the stimulating effect of phenols [ 33 , 34 , 35 ], enhanced the biomass of soil microbiota in the soil irrigation treatment. In the literature, significant increments of the soil bacteria community were reported with concentrations of WD comprised between 0.3% [ 36 ] and 2% [ 37 , 38 ], without changes in the microbial composition [ 36 ].…”

Development and Characterization of a Novel Soil Amendment Based on Biomass Fly Ash Encapsulated in Calcium Alginate Microspheres

“…The microsphere formulation ALG/(Ca + BFA) was prepared by loading calcium alginate microspheres with BFA using a modified ionic gelation method [ 17 , 18 ]. ALG/(Ca + BFA) production by ionic gelation method involves dripping 500 mL of sodium alginate (2% w / v ) with dispersed BFA (4 g) into 500 mL of calcium chloride dihydrate solution (1.5% w / v ) using a syringe with a constant stirring.…”

“…An elegant solution would be to use a controlled-release method such as encapsulation technology, which inserts the substance of interest into the carrier matrix, delivering it to the selected site at the appropriate concentrations and prolonging the time that plants must absorb the nutrients. Encapsulation in biopolymer matrices has already been recognized as an effective method for the prolonged release of micro- and macronutrients as well as microorganisms for plant nutrition and protection [ 17 , 18 ]. Despite many methodologies for the encapsulation of chemical or biological agents, there are no data in the literature on BFA encapsulation in biopolymer microspheres for slow plant nutrient release to the soil.…”

“…The preparation of a calcium alginate microsphere is simple, and its components are easily accessible. It is merely a slow-release system (controls the release of the encapsulated ingredient over time) and can be tailored according to the ingredient being encapsulated as well as the application requirements [ 18 ]. In addition to the possibility of delivering encapsulated bioactive substances or microorganisms to the plants, biopolymer alginate also plays the role of a soil amendment, modifying the condition of the soil by encouraging soil water retention to elicit a defensive response that results in protection against pathogens or insect damage [ 19 ].…”

Challenging Sustainable and Innovative Technologies in Cheese Production: A Review

“…Microencapsulation is seen as a novel approach to the preservation of biodiversity and to delivering important ingredients into cheese, although it should be borne in mind that the successful encapsulation of payload relevant to cheese production, such as microorganisms, enzymes, peptides, aromatic compounds, chemical agents (Ca 2+ ), and even essential oils, can be extremely challenging. Furthermore, combinations of more than one active ingredient can make the process of encapsulation even more complex [6][7][8][9].…”